Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle for a chest strap of a knapsack, and more particularly, to a buckle for a chest strap of a knapsack, which may be connected to a shoulder strap so as to be adjustable in height along the shoulder strap, may provide simplified fastening and unfastening thereof, and may allow a hose for a water bottle or some other small article to be easily attached thereto and carried.
Description of the Related Art
A buckle for use in, for example, knapsacks refers to a fastening device in which two members are coupled and fixed to each other. A general buckle is manufactured by molding two members from a plastic material so as to implement elastic coupling therebetween, and thus has widely been used because it is light and easily fastened.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a general knapsack by way of example. As illustrated in FIG. 1, various shapes of straps are provided on the rear surface of a knapsack 1 in order to assist a wearer in wearing the knapsack 1. That is, a basic shoulder strap 2 to be slung over the shoulder, a waist strap 3 to be worn around the waist, and a chest strap 4 to be worn around the chest are provided.
Among these, the chest strap 4 is used to bind a pair of shoulder straps 2 to each other so as to prevent the upper end of the knapsack from tilting backward and to bring the knapsack into close contact with the human body, thereby functioning to prevent shaking of the knapsack and to maintain a stabilized worn state of the knapsack.
In addition, the chest strap 4 is configured so as to vertically move along the shoulder straps 2 while being supported at opposite ends thereof by the shoulder straps 2. As such, the height of the chest strap 4 is adjustable to suit the body of the wearer of the knapsack.
More specifically, the middle portion of the chest strap 4 is separably connected using a fastening buckle 5, which includes female and male pieces, and opposite ends of the chest strap 4 are provided with connection buckles 6 so that the ends of the chest strap 4 are connected to the shoulder straps 2 via the connection buckles 6. In addition, a guide strap 7 for guiding the vertical movement of the chest strap 4 is installed on the outer surface of each shoulder strap 2 and is coupled to the connection buckle 6.
Accordingly, when it is desired to adjust the height of the chest strap 4, the wearer may grip opposite ends of the chest strap 4 and push up or down the chest strap 4 while gripping the shoulder straps 2. However, because of the connection buckles 6 supported by the shoulder straps 2 as well as support pieces, vertically moving the connection buckles 6 is very inconvenient and adjustment of the height of the chest strap 4 is not easy.
In addition, the conventional strap connection structure described above has a complicated configuration, causing increased manufacturing costs, lowered productivity, and deterioration in aesthetic appearance.
Patent Document 1, which was developed to solve the problem described above, discloses rails installed on outer surfaces of shoulder straps so as to vertically extend a long length, and elevating buckles installed respectively on opposite ends of a chest strap so as to be coupled to the respective rails, such that the height of the chest strap may be simply adjusted merely via manipulation of the elevating buckles, which provides increased convenience in use.
Patent Document 2 discloses a further improvement of Patent Document 1. Considering Patent Document 2, in a chest strap including a plug member, a socket member, and an elevating buckle, the elevating buckle is integrally included in any one member among the plug member and the socket member, and a magnet is mounted in the other member so that various small articles may be attached to and carried along with the chest strap.
As described above, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, which were previously registered by the applicant of the present invention, achieve improved productivity attributable to a reduction in the number of constituent elements of the chest strap, and enable the convenient use of the chest strap while imparting the chest strap with a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. In particular, Patent Document 2 achieves excellent convenience in use through the provision of the magnet, which may temporarily hold and carry a hose of a water bottle or some other small article.
The conventional buckles described above, however, require high technical skill for the manufacture thereof because of a complicated configuration, i.e. because a pair of lock arms having a complicated configuration are provided and because a chamber in the socket member, which is required in order to accommodate the lock arms, and a coupling structure inside the chamber for fastening the lock arms have a complicated configuration. Moreover, in Patent Document 2, a complicated configuration for mounting the magnet therein is added to the side portion, which causes increased manufacturing costs and difficulty in manufacture.
In particular, in the buckles for the chest strap in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the connection of the plug member and the socket member requires the user to grip the plug member and the socket member with both hands so as to insert one into the other by applying pressure thereto. In the same manner, the separation of the plug member and the socket member requires the user to grip the plug member and the socket member with both hands so as to push and separate the lock arms of the plug member. As described above, the conventional buckle for the chest strap may be fastened only when the user accurately couples the plug member and the socket member to each other using both hands.